Two Sides of the Same Coin
by Dorian Grey II
Summary: This is the new version of my OC fic of Sky High. Let me know if it's better or worse.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey. Important Author's Note at the end, Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything originally sky high, I just thought I'd throw a few ideas into the mix.**

**Chapter 1**

Julius POV

I have never asked for much in life. Probably because I haven't had the need to. My life has been perfectly content, and relatively care free. For my ninth birthday, my dad bought me a mint condition Commander action figure and it was pretty cool. I still have it. I've never even heard my parents mention the possibility of debt or monetary problems. So when I got my powers, I figured my life couldn't possibly get any better. So imagine my excitement when I was told that there was a whole school full of people just like me. I couldn't sleep for like three days. I was so ecstatic that I had already picked out my superhero name, Captain Maximum. That was a full month before I started freshman year. By the time I had finally calmed down it was the first day of school. The sudden personality change scared the hell out of my mom. Dad just said that I was growing up.

I sat at the table early Monday morning in our kitchen eating my favorite cereal, while watching the news report. The superhero Olympian destroyed yet another meteor hurdling toward earth. I was always astounded at the number of times a year Maxville is in a state of emergency. Just last week, killer robots from Dimension 6 walked through a portal and killed 3 people and injured dozens more before The Immortal Pyro could stop them. Five days before that, Captain Thunder had to stop Rex King from turning everyone into mindless reptilian slaves. Yep, just an ordinary day in the city of Maxville. I threw on my shades and my dad's high school Letterman jacket, which strangely fits me perfectly, grabbed my bag and left for the bus. I was surprised to see a Maxville Public School bus pull up. I reluctantly got on and paused at the front of the bus.

"Is this the bus to Sky High," I asked curiously. The bus driver rolled his eyes.

"A little louder please, I don't think Dr. Imminence heard you. Jeez kid, do you want every super villain in the neighborhood to know? Yes, it is now go sit down."

As I walked down the aisle, I became exceedingly nervous. Today, I will be attending one of the oldest and most prestigious super powered schools in the world. Every legendary hero for the past century came from Sky High. My dad told me about his first day. They used to have this thing called Power Placement where they divide you up into two different classes based on how powerful you were. You were either a hero or a sidekick, however I've been told the correct term is "hero support."So my dad had told me that the coach, the guy who evaluates your power, deemed him hero worthy after he blew a hole in the wall with a clap of his hands. You see my dad was a superhero known as Seismic. He could create powerful shock waves with his hands. He met my mom Psyche, a powerful psychic, during the Super War back in the 90's. But that's another story. The point is like a lot of other next generation heroes, I've got a lot to live up to. I decided that music would probably be the best way to cure my pregame jitters as mom calls it.

Just as I pulled out my iPod another kid got on the bus. He didn't say anything, and made his way down the aisle. He had black hair and hazel eyes with a black wardrobe except for the gray t-shirt he was wearing and he looked about the same height as me. He sat down in the seat behind me. I instantly got a danger vibe from him and made a conscious decision to stay away from him.

A few of the kids on the bus started to get nervous when we drove through a abandoned work zone sign, but I already knew what was about to happen. One of the first things my dad told me about Sky High was that it was literally sky high. I'm not sure about the exact number, but I think it's high enough to avoid all air traffic except space shuttles and that's not even on this side of town. So I guess it's totally justified that everyone on the bus/airplane thing went absolutely postal when the bus dropped off the cliff and then proceeded to scream their heads off when the bus took off into the early morning sky, which is why nobody heard the bus driver when he looked back. "Pfft, freshman," he scoffed. When we finally landed at Sky High and some of the freshman sprinted off the bus and began kissing the ground. I let everyone get off before me before I approached the driver. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that his hair was completely white, even his eyebrows. Which was weird because he only looked about 20 or so.

"Hey, Mr. Bus driver sir, have you ever thought about doing tricks?"

"First off kid, The name's Zach. Sir makes me feel old. Second, Yes I have thought about it, but Sky High bus regulations prevent me from doing so without prior approval first." He cocked a snow white eyebrow at me. "Why do you ask?"

"I guess I was a little bored this morning and was wondering if you could, I don't know, liven it up a bit?" He gave me a strange look as he thought over my words.

"Tell you what," he said, "here's my card. If you feel the need for speed when I'm off duty, give me a call and I'll consider giving you a ride, but it won't be free. It's gonna cost you some cash, I got bills to pay." I took the card. It had his hours and numbers to reach him at. I struck out my hand.

"Thanks. By the way, My name's Julius. It's nice to meet you Zach."He shook my firmly.

"You too kid. Better get a move on or you'll be late for class." I nodded and raced off to orientation. I ran as fast as I could toward the gym where I knew orientation was being held. I just burst through the doors when I bumped into the danger guy from earlier. He gave me a glare and moved away. I could tell I was gonna hate that guy. But nobody could dampen my excitement at a fresh start; at being able to re-invent my self into anyone I please. In middle school, I had been a shy geeky book smart kid, but here I could be anyone I wanted. I could be the cool guy that everybody loved, or the totally hilarious prankster; I could once again don the geek role, not likely, but still an option, or I could be take on a darker role and be the aloof brooding loner. So many ideas and for once so **MUCH** time. I temporarily put all those thoughts aside as all the freshman were ushered into the gym for power placement.

My mom, who works for the U.S. Department of Supernatural Affairs, had told me that the school had a new system since they had done away with the hero/sidekick regime. Now, they had a scale of 1 to 7; one being able to read exceptionally fast and seven being the next Commander or Olympian. After they observed your power, they placed you in what they call your starting class and as time wore on if your powers or abilities grew, or proficiency as a superhero developed you moved up a class.

I sorta zoned out as Principal Powers explained the system to everyone else. By the time she was done, I was thoroughly bored and was ready for the excitement of power placement and high school to begin. Finally, she announced that power placement was about to get started and that they would be going in alphabetical order if there weren't any questions. I prayed silently to god that there weren't any, but sadly fate was not in my favor today as a kid was called on.

"What if we don't want to show our power to everyone?" he asked.

"We have private sessions set up after all the others have gone, if anyone's interested?" A few of the students timidly raised their hands. "Alright, will all of you who raised your hands please step to the side. Everyone one else prepare yourselves and let power placement begin!"

**Authors Note: Hey, I wasn't happy with the debut of this fic. So i got some help. Give me some feed back on the new version. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Viktor POV

I have never asked for much in life. Probably because if I did I would just be laughed at and would probably be beat up for asking. My life has been one big disaster after another from the start. My mother died giving birth to me and I'm pretty sure that my father blamed me for her death. I know it's the truth because I blame me for my mother's death, so it's kind of hard for him not to. My older brother Zane was my hero up until he lost his mind. He taught me everything I know about the real world and more importantly the streets. When I was nine, he gave me my first and last taste of alcohol because he didn't want me to become an alcoholic, and the same thing with cigarettes and marijuana. Amazingly, all his methods seemed to work because I made a vow to myself that I would never touch the stuff again. It would be three years later before Zane would eventually get sick of poverty and rob his first bank as the new villain Mayhem. After that Dad kicked him out of our lives forever but when he left he told me to be my own person.

When I found out that I had superpowers I figured it was just another thing about me that would make people instantly dislike me aside from the fact that I had a brother who was in a super prison. But instead thanks to my next door neighbor, Mrs. Lei, I ended up getting registered in the D.S.A.'s data base and going to sky high. So it was Monday morning that I had gotten dressed in black jeans and my favorite gray skull and bones t-shirt and walked out the door with a few note books in hand. Unlike most freshman attending Sky High this year, I had no misconceptions about Sky High simply because I didn't care one way or another. I had one mission and that was to be a hero. Everything else was just extra, and that included having an enormous social life so I decided that I would mostly be keeping to my self with the exception of those few who prove to be a good choice in company, unlike the moron who was asking if this was the bus to Sky High. I took who I hung around very seriously, especially after that whole business with Zane.

I stepped on to the bus and I locked eyes with the kid and made a conscious decision right then and there to stay away from that preppy idiot. I sat down in the seat behind him and started on the meditation techniques that Mrs. Lei had taught me. Mrs. Lei is my next door neighbor and she used to be a superhero by the name of Mistress Yin who worked as a crime-fighting duo with her twin brother Master Yang. She has long since retired after her brother had died on a bad mission. The twins' power was that they could communicate telepathically with each other no matter where they were. They had tested it when they were literally a whole world apart. Don't ask it's a long story, but anyway I guess the communication thing was really strong because Mrs. Lei said she talks to her brother all the time, which I think is pretty cool.

By the time I was done reminiscing, the bus was already off in the air and flying at high speeds. All the freshman were screaming their heads off except for the preppy kid, who had a faint expression of happiness on his face. Well, I guess he isn't as spineless as I had initially thought. But that wasn't really saying much because this wasn't even that dangerous to begin with. I have done way more dangerous stunts than this which can only be explained by the simple fact that Mrs. Lei was _very_ thorough with her training techniques. She may not have much in the way of actual super powers, but she was an absolute genius when it came to martial arts. She's been teaching me everything she knows with the help of her brother for the past year ever since she found some bullies trying to pick a fight with me after a walk home from school, which coincidentally was the first time that I had powered up.

I stepped off the bus and I just felt this overwhelming sense of... readiness. Sky High was just the institution where I could learn to be a hero, and taking a good look at it I had to say that I was impressed. First it's a school in the sky so I guess that means they have pretty good security, although I could probably hack it in about seven minutes flat. It had thick outer walls that were beige-ish, horrible color choice , and the words Sky High in big orange and blue lettering. Walking into the double doors, I felt like I could take on just about anything and anyone at the moment. We were ushered into the gym for the welcome and the beginning of power placement. I listened intently as Principal Powers explained the new system and how it worked. She also explained the expectations for the school year and wished us good luck before taking off in a ball of light, and I vaguely remembered Mrs. Lei telling me that she had worked with The Comet on occasion.

I waited patiently as the long list of names was called and watched with intense curiosity as the name Julius Grey was called. I watched as he climbed onto the stage and demonstrated his power of telekinesis and I have to admit it was kind of impressive the way he caught that car. I'm pretty sure that his ego has to be huge so I would honor my agreement to stay away from him, but I would watch him when I could because one of the things Mrs. Lei had taught me was that one of the many aspects that contributed to being great at martial arts was the ability to read people and react based on the situation. So it was actually a good thing that I was pretty low on the list of names because I had been systematically categorizing every superpower that I saw. Then finally my name was called.

"Viktor Rade, you're up." I heard a few collective gasps and I figured those were the few people who knew who my brother was. I walked on to the stage with a mask of neutrality plastered on to my face, ready for anything.

"Alright kid, what's your power?" he asked writing something down on his ever present clip board.

"I have extreme reflexes which applies to reading body language. Also I'm good at martial arts." I stated. He nodded and pressed a button on the pad he was also holding, and I found my self launched toward a pillar at a break neck speed but I twisted my body so that I landed safely on the side of the pillar and used my momentum to help me spring off back toward the stage and flipped and dodged a couple of the disks that were suddenly thrown at me in mid-air. I landed back on the stage without breaking a sweat. This was nothing compared to the stuff Mrs. Lei had me doing.

After everyone was finished, I went to wait with the others in the auditorium for our class schedules, and was surprised by mine.

Name: Viktor Solomon Rade Student#:00852743 Starting Class#: Class 4

Graduating Class: 2014 Status: Freshman

Schedule

1. Accelerated Math I

2. Hero/Villain History

3. English/ Literature and Composition I

4. Physical Training/ Power Control

5. Lunch

6. Free Period

7. Ethics/ Philosophy I

8. Physics I

I looked everything over and figured it wasn't a bad place to start. Besides, from what Principal Powers had said we could always move up a class should our skill or grades improve. That's when Coach Speedy announced that we would be going directly to lunch since power placement had taken up most of the morning and a little of the afternoon. I ate quickly by myself and left to go explore the school and get familiar with the lay out of the place in case of an emergency. It was during these explorations that I discovered a tiny confrontation going on between preppy and some sick kid that I had met two weeks ago named Devin Day. When I had met him, he was burning his finger tips for some odd reason and I had written him off as one of those people who got some sort of sick pleasure out of causing pain to himself and others. Apparently preppy had caught Devin beating up on some innocent kid for god knows what reason and was confronting him about it and I was silently praying that preppy would stop talking and just pummel the guy already and if he got into trouble, I'm sure that I would back him not only because I didn't like Devin but also because it would be the right thing to do. Guys like him didn't deserve any kind of warning and I was sure he would doing some serious damage before the end of the school year.

I inwardly groaned as I watched Devin walk away and was disappointed to see that preppy had let him walk away unscathed. I decided I would keep my eye on both preppy and Devin. Preppy as a potential ally and Devin as a definite enemy. It was with that thought that I resigned to come back to this later and went to class as the bell rang.

Authors Note: Thanks for reading and please review. I can only get better if you tell me what I'm doing wrong or they could simply be words of encouragement, but please review. Thank You.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Julius POV

They were serving burgers for lunch, and for once school food wasn't a horrible brown sticky mess that they claim to be edible. But I couldn't enjoy anything at the moment despite my juicy beefy sandwich. You see after power placement 2.0 we were given our schedules along with our starting class rank. I turned out to be a class 4. As exciting as that was, I was still having a bad morning. Right after power placement we went to 3rd period, which for me was History and after that I had a class called PTPC or Physical Training and Power Control. Of course it wasn't all bad, The thing that had me down at the moment was the class outline.

You see, the class had three stages. The Physical, The Mental, and the The Battle, each one more difficult than the last. The first two would alternate through out the year. The Physical was a test of your physical capabilities such as cardio, weight training, speed, etc. The Mental was designed to test your will. You are given an impossible task that played on all your weaknesses and none of your strengths and was specifically designed to see how far you could go before you gave up. And last but certainly the most difficult was the part where they pit you against someone in your class for a one on one sparring match, to "assess" your skills, which was a lose lose situation. If you win, you've got a target splashed on your back for posers, people wanting protection and of course people wanting to take out the best to be the best. If, you lose people ignore you and label you as a loser, good bye social standing. When everyone complained about having to fight other people, Coach Speedy said that this was the essentially best way to figure out what you're capable of. The upside was that we only did the third stage twice a year, once at the beginning and then again at the end for a final grade.

Despite this uplifting piece of news, I still couldn't shake the melancholy and anxiousness that I felt. You see, I was lucky to go first and my opponent would be Mr. Danger himself. Viktor Rade. I finished my lunch and decided to get a good layout of the school, when I came across a kid being bullied. There was almost no thought as to what I should do.

"Hey," I called. The perpetrator paused mid-punch and looked up. When I looked him in his frigidly empty blue eyes, I wondered just what was going through this guy's head. He stood up and the other guy ran off. Good call. He ran a hand through his odd salt and pepper hair, part blond and part black.

"Well," he commented offhandedly, "there goes my post lunch entertainment." My alarm bells immediately went off. This sick bastard was torturing that poor kid for _fun_? I got in his face, so close I could hear him breathing. For a brief moment, I saw a flash of what looked like excitement in his eyes.

"I don't know what's going on in that contorted asylum you call a brain, but if ever meet under similar circumstances again, there will be no words to express my anger, only actions."

"You promise,"he sneered.

"Absolutely."

"Well, I see that the hero complex develops early in second generation heroes," he was fishing and I gave him nothing, "or not." he said conceding to my blank expression. "I guess i'll be on my merry way then. See you around, space cadet." What?

He left and the bell rang for physics. I raced off to the other side of the building hoping I wouldn't be late again. It seemed as though my locker was strategically placed to make me late for every class. However, I actually managed to make it to class on time. Unfortunately, the class was full.

"Mr. Grey, please find a seat so we can begin," the teacher droned.

I searched for a seat and saw one next to a dark haired brunette. Good enough for me and I sat down.

"Now that we are all present I can begin. Welcome to physics. While this is a super school, you must still have fundamental ordinary education in order to function in the mundane world. In case most of you haven't figured out yet, everyone's not cut out to be a hero. So this class will not only teach you to understand the workings of the natural world around you, it is also here as an option for a respected career field. The only thing you should know about me as a teacher is that I loathe having conversations with morons, so for today outline chapter one and then maybe we'll talk. Do this quietly or there will be a seat in detention with your name on it."

For the next 15 minutes, we all read quietly while Mr. Plow, our oh so lovable physics teacher, skimmed through Super Vixen Weekly. After I finished reading the chapter, I looked over at my partner. Her ocean blue eyes avidly floated over the pages of a worn copy of A Study in Scarlet.

"Hey is that any good," I whisphered.

"If this is your attempt at starting a conversation, go ahead and give up now because everyone knows that Sherlock Holmes, written the genius that is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the greatest detective, fictional and non-fictional, ever to grace the pages of a book. Try starting with introducing yourself. I hear that's all the rage in Paris,"she droned.

"Well, my name is-"

"That was sarcasm,"she interrupted not looking up from her book, "I don't actually care what your name is. I just need to know one thing."

"Yeah what is it?"

"Are you a freeloader?" She looked me in the eye.

"What?" I am thouroughly confused.

"Are you the type to just let a person do all the work and then take partial credit if not all. If so, please say so now. I don't like wasting my time when I could be reading."

"Um, no," I answered.

"Good, I guess that's enough friendly conversation for one day," she said going back to her book. That was friendly conversation? I should probably avoid her bad side like the plague. The bell rang signaling the end of the day, and everyone raced for the exit. I walked to my locker feeling oddly content. I just completed my first day of high school without any major mishaps, forgetting the fact that I would have to fight Mr. Danger tomorrow, things seemed to be looking up. So when I got off the bus, I started whistling that horridly catch tune of Katrina and the Waves' Walking on Sunshine.

"What's got you in such a good mood," my mom called from the kitchen. The smell of spicy Italian spaghetti filled my nostrils and I unthinkingly gravitated to the kitchen.

"Oh nothing. I just had a good first day," I smiled,and she cocked an eyebrow

"Do I know her name?"she questioned. Oddly enough, sarcasm girl flashed through my mind.

"There's no girl. I just had a really good day. Where's dad?" I didn't get a chance to answer because my sister Lora ran into the room and immediately latched onto my leg.

"Hi JD. How was school? Did you have fun? What did you bring me? I missed you." I looked up at my mom.

"So much energy the little one has." I commented. Mom laughed.

"To answer your many many questions, Miss Lora Grey, School was great. I met new people. Yes I had fun, and no I didn't bring you anything this time." I was smart enough to remember to say this time. She loves gifts.

"Okay. You'll play bear family with me before bed, right?"

"Absolutely." I answered and she skipped out of the room.

Two minutes later the phone rang. Mom put the lid on the finished spaghetti, and picked up.

"Hello, Grey residence... Oh hey, sweetheart how are you... I'm great...yeah what is it... what...NO, Jack we are not doing this again...you promised...I don't give a damn about what they want... fine, I can see that you've already made up your mind, goodbye." When she hung up, she had tears in her eyes.

"Julius, make sure your sister gets something to eat." she swept out of the room. A few moments later, I heard the door slam. I made Lora a plate and put it in the microwave. Afterward, I went into the living room to wait for my dad, because I needed an explanation. I always hate seeing my mother cry, and especially when it's my dad that causes it. Half an hour later, he walked through the door. He had a tired grim look on his face, his black neck tie loosened with top button unbuttoned, which are usually tell-tell signs of a stressful day at the D.S.A. office. He took one look at my annoyed expectant expression,put his briefcase on the floor and sat down next to me rubbing his dark coffee brown eyes tiredly.

"How was your day kid?"

"Get to the point, dad." I was in no mood for pleasantries. He let a deep sigh, and said the last thing that I expected or wanted to hear.

"My superhero status has been reactivated. I'm coming out of retirement." After a few moments of shocked silence, I jumped out of my seat and stormed out the front door. '_I need to get away from this' _was my last thought before I gathered all of the energy within me and pushed off into the late night sky.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Viktor POV

When I got off the bus that afternoon, I fully expected to have a peaceful walk home. However, the hooded stranger in dark clothing that seemed to be following me had other plans. First rule of being followed is make sure you're being followed. Paranoia is the enemy. Mrs. Lei told me that many covert missions have gone wrong because people get scared or paranoid and they blow their cover. I turned the corner toward the drug store and the opposite direction of my house. Second rule of being tailed is never lead them to where you're going. Although that one should be obvious. The third rule is kind of tricky. You have to assess the tail for any discernible features and identify if it's a hostile or not. I pulled out my touch screen cell phone and pretended not to get a signal while checking out my tail. The subject appeared about 5'2'' in height, and the curvature of the subject's hips suggest that the subject is female. Judging from the slight limp in her left leg as she walked, the female had either a recent injury, or an injury long ago serious enough to cause irreparable damage. I only knew one female of that description. That sly old bat. I felt a grin tug at the corners of my mouth as I realized that confronting the tail was going to be easier than I thought. The only thing left to do now was the confrontation. Even though the subject is not hostile it will act as so to demonstrate an adequate field exercise.

I arrived inside the drug store and quickly rushed to the bathroom, but unfortunately there was no window. I guess i'll have to try another route. I poked my head out of the bathroom and couldn't believe what I was seeing. The subject had pulled a gun and was quietly searching the aisle. The subject was no longer an amusing game of cat and mouse. Instead the subject became a target, because anyone looking for me with a weapon probably wants to do more than a quick chit-chat. I have to lure the perp away from innocents. I made a mad dash for the door and managed to get into the back alleyway down the street before I let the hooded stranger catch up to me. I took my best hero pose, and spoke.

"Put the gun down and walk away, before this gets ugly," I growled. She didn't respond except to cock the gun. "Alright, you had your warning." I charged her and as she began firing I pushed my abilities to the limit because bullets move pretty fast. However, I avoided them, but only just barely. It took me about 20 seconds to reach her. The crook used short, controlled and aimed

shots so as not to run out to early. I was only a few feet away when the clip went empty. We both paused for half a breath before she flung the gun at me and whipped out a knife. I weaved around a couple slashes and grabbed her wrist, and heaved her over my shoulder dislodging the knife from her hand. She was lighter than I originally thought. She landed on her feet, and sprang back leading with her right foot. I stepped to the side, grabbed it and flung her into the wall. She hit it with a grunt, but she got back up as if nothing happened. We spent the next minute trading blows. She snuck past my guard with a move that confirmed her identity. It was then that I decided to end this I pushed her toward the wall. She lashed out with a foot and I grabbed it picking her up by the leg and slamming her as hard as could into the ground. I put my foot on her throat.

"Do you yield?"

"Sure," she answered, "I'm kind of tired and you know that women my age shouldn't be up and walking around. Help an old woman up, would you?" I pulled her to her feet.

"Age is nothing but a number," I said chuckling, "and you move like you're 20."

"Even so, you've developed into quite the strong young man, Huŏ qiú," she said.

"Flattery will get you no where, old woman."

"You just said that I move like I'm 20."

"But I didn't say that you were 20. What's for dinner?"

"Lo Mein?" she tried.

"No, we had that Tuesday."

"What's today?"

"Thursday."

"Meatball sub?"

"Better. That sounds great. It's getting cold. We should head back."

"You're right. Did you know that meatball subs were Bo's favorite food?" Mrs. Lei asked reminiscing.

"Really, why?"

"Bo always hated Chinese food for some reason. So when we moved to America, you can imagine his reaction to cheese burgers." She cocked her head as if she was listening to a ghost, which in this case she was. She laughed. "Bo says that he wish that ghosts could eat so he could make money as he is very adept at making cheese burgers." I laughed too.

20 minutes later, we had arrived at home. I went up stairs to shower. It's been 2 years since I moved in with Mrs. Lei. She was the mother that I never had, and though she rarely tells me, I know I am her son in every way but blood. After my shower I dressed in pajamas and padded down stairs to check on dinner which I could smell from up stairs. When I stepped into the kitchen, Mrs. Lei was arguing with someone.

"No, you're supposed to add the chopped vegetables into the meat, Bo...

That's ridiculous,everyone's not going to have the same acquired tastes you do... Fine we'll let him decide." Mrs. Lei turned to me. "Do you want your onions inside or on top of the meat balls?"

"Inside?" Mrs. Lei broke out into a horrible version of a victory dance. Lord help us all.

"You do realize that I can't hear the other half of the conversation right?"

"Oh he's just being a sore loser. So, anything interesting at school today?" she asked. I explained the physical educational program and how I had to fight preppy tomorrow. She nodded. "You will record the fight, yes?"

"Yes, mam."

"Okay food's ready. I going to bed. Don't stay up too late, Huŏ qiú."

"Good night, Mai."

I turned off the TV and went upstairs to do my homework. After I had finished summarizing the aftermath of The War, I closed my history book and began my meditation. First I crossed my legs butterfly style, and closed my eyes. I began to breath deeply, slowly releasing the tension in my muscles until I was completely relaxed. Once I was completely relaxed, I asked my self my favorite unanswered question. _What is the difference between good and evil? _

The funny thing about falling asleep is that no one can ever tell the exact moment when their brain shuts down. Anyone else who says differently is a liar. I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to start day. The emotion I was feeling was borderline eagerness which was actually a nice change from my usual content stoicism. I quickly showered and dressed, and rushed downstairs for breakfast. I inhaled my cereal, brushed my teeth and was out the door. I suddenly realized that I had left my book bag and ran back inside to get it. Mrs. Lei was just now waking and was in the kitchen making coffee.

"Can't talk, left book bag, have to get to bus stop, love you bye!" I shouted as I rushed in and out. I had just made to the bust stop with five minutes to spare at a full sprint. Preppy was there looking at me oddly.

"What?" I asked glaring.

"Where's the fire?" he shot back.

"Touché."

"What's up with you this morning?" I hope he doesn't get the impression that we're friends, but I resigned to be civil at least.

"I'm ready." I know he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Yeah... about that," I quirked an eyebrow, "I... don't hold back, okay?" he seemed nervous, and I wasn't expecting him to say that.

"Why not?"

"My dad," his face scrunched up, most likely he currently has a rocky relationship with father, noted, "told me that in a sanctioned fight like the one we're going to have, it's always best to make your intentions clear. So I'm asking you not to hold back, because I won't."

"Your father is a smart man. I will fight with everything I have, so long as you actually pose a challenge."

"Absolutely." I thought that was the end of our conversation, "Hey what was up with you yesterday?" I was wrong.

"I do not like clumsy people. If you're clumsy in battle, you will die."

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

"That is the only way to look at it," I snapped.

"Battles aren't always so cut and dry. There are millions of factors that can contribute to victory or defeat," he countered.

"Even so, it would not do to suddenly lose your balance in a life or death situation, especially when innocents are involved."

Preppy chuckled, "I concede." The bus pulled up effectively ending our civil conversation. Or at least I hope so. You never know when preppy might spring another thought provoking question. It seemed that everyone was a bit more relaxed now that they knew what to expect. Although some were still kind of fidgety. I glanced back a few seats to see that preppy was actually pensive. Didn't know he could do that. 10 minutes later the air bus landed at Sky High and everyone got just as I started toward first period, I heard preppy calling me.

"Hey, wait up." I stopped and allowed him to catch up.

"You sure do move fast," he said as we approached our lockers. Ironically enough our lockers were only a few feet apart.

"Walking slowly has never been a habit of mine. Is there something you needed?"

"Yeah, um, regardless of what happens today in gym would you be opposed to continuing our conversation?"

"Why?"

"It's just... I made a snap judgment and you don't seem completely unfriendly and it's the second day of high school and it wouldn't hurt to actually have a friend and whole bunch of other reasons."

"Fine, when is your free period?" I asked even though I knew the answer. Got to keep up appearances.

"Right after lunch," he said

"Meet me back here after lunch and we'll go do some recon."

"Some what?"

"Reconnaissance?" This kid can not be that slow. When his expression remained confused, I added, "We'll go exploring."

"Oh, okay. Anything else?"

"Yeah. If you see me, ignore me and visa versa."

"Why?"

"Firstly, if you reveal who your allies are your enemy can exploit it as a weakness, and second, it's easier on me. I don't make friends easily by intention. You've got to earn my respect." he simply nodded and walked away.

I finally reached my math class, and sat down. However, I knew there was no way I could fully concentrate in anticipation of gym class. It was going to be interesting to say the least.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Julius POV

I've never been to prison before. I've never gotten detention or had my parents called for disrupting the class. So I'm not sure what being caged really feels like. But last night when I flew for the first time, it felt as if something was holding me back, like something was holding me captive and I had suddenly broken free. It was then that I realized that I was about 800 feet in the air, and then I realized I was _800_ feet in the freaking air. Immediately I dropped out of the sky. I'm not going to lie, I screamed, but only a little bit. It took me half a second to remember the training my dad gave me on high pressure situations. First and foremost, keep a level head. I stopped screaming and began to charge. My powers are kind of like a laser in a sort of way. I usually charge my hands full of shock wave-like energy and then blast the nearest target. But this was completely different. Instead of just charging my hands, I was charging my entire body and manipulating the energy in order to defy gravity.

With this knowledge, I shakily floated to the ground and powered down. However, adrenalin was still running rampant through my blood stream. I charged my body and leaped off the ground into the starry night, relishing in the weightlessness of it all. After I had gotten used to twisting and turning and looping, I stopped and floated about 500 feet in the air. I basked in the soft graceful light of the full moon. I glanced down at my watch and realized that I had been gone for 3 hours. It was time to come down from Happy Land, the name I had give my palace of wonder and unbridled joy, and go back to a home with a mother who was scared for her husbands life as well as being filled with grief. I had to go home to a father whose life expectancy just dropped by like 15%. When I had finally gotten to my doorstep, I walked through the door and trudged to my room, ignoring my father's attempts to talk to me. I slammed the door to my room, plopped down on my bed, and fell asleep not even bothering to change out of my sweaty clothes.

"Julius...Juju," my mom shook me awake, "sweety it's time to get up. You've got to go to school." I mumbled an okay and rolled out of bed, and onto the floor in push-up position. I did fifty and went to the bathroom to shower and other hygienic things. After showering, I put on a pair of straight leg six pocket khaki cargo pants and a black muscle tee, and my white sneakers. I grabbed my book bag and my dad's Letterman and rushed out the house with a piece of toast in my hand. I got to the bus stop ten minutes early.

About five minutes later, the danger guy from yesterday comes running up and I remember that we're supposed to fighting today. I decided to the honorable thing and make my intentions clear, but first I had to know why he was running. He seemed to be the uptight punctual type.

"What?" he snapped.

"Where's the fire?" I asked amused

"Touché."

"What's up with you this morning?" I hope he doesn't get the impression that we're friends, but I resigned to be civil at least.

"I'm ready." I know he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Yeah... about that," he cocked an eyebrow, "I... don't hold back, okay?" I wasn't really sure how he would take this.

"Why not?"

"My dad," I was still kind of down about my dad being re activated, but back to the matter at hand, "told me that in a sanctioned fight like the one we're going to have, it's always best to make your intentions clear. So I'm asking you not to hold back, because I won't."

"Your father is a smart man. I will fight with everything I have, so long as you actually pose a challenge."

"Absolutely." It suddenly occurred to me to ask why he was being rude, "Hey what was up with you yesterday?"

"I do not like clumsy people. If you're clumsy in battle, you will die."

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

"That is the only way to look at it," he snapped. This guy has a short fuse, noted.

"Battles aren't always so cut and dry. There are millions of factors that can contribute to victory or defeat," I countered.

"Even so, it would not do to suddenly lose your balance in a life or death situation, especially when innocents are involved."

That's kind of a funny image, "I concede." The bus pulled up and we got on. My mom being the psychic that she was was always telling me not to judge a book by its cover, so I can't really figure out why I didn't extend the hand of friendship before. So I resigned to see if he would like to hang out after the fight. Besides keep your friends close and enemies closer right? I got off the bus last again and rushed to catch up to him before homeroom. He was almost to his locker by the time I caught up thanks to students milling around the hall.

"Hey, wait up." he stopped and allowed me to catch up.

"You sure do move fast," I commented we approached our lockers. Oddly enough our lockers were only a few feet apart.

"Walking slowly has never been a habit of mine. Is there something you needed?"

"Yeah, um, regardless of what happens today in gym would you be opposed to continuing our conversation?"

"Why?"

"It's just... I made a snap judgment and you don't seem completely unfriendly and it's the second day of high school and it wouldn't hurt to actually have a friend and whole bunch of other reasons."

"Fine, when is your free period?" He asked.

"Right after lunch," I told him.

"Meet me back here after lunch and we'll go do some recon."

"Some what?"

"Reconnaissance?" I know I've heard that word before, but I can't remember where. He added, "We'll go exploring." Oh right.

"Oh, okay. Anything else?"

"Yeah. If you see me, ignore me and visa versa."

"Why?"

"Firstly, if you reveal who your allies are your enemy can exploit it as a weakness, and second, it's easier on me. I don't make friends easily by intention. You've got to earn my respect." That's fairly straight forward and honest. I can accept that. I nodded and walked away, heading off to Hero History. When I got there, Ms. Lyle, the history teacher, just told me not to come late without a pass anymore. She began her lecture.

"Good morning. Due to the new curriculum, we will be starting the year off with a very sensitive topic. The War. Raise your hand, how many of you know about The War?" About half the class including myself raised their hands, "Keep your hands up if you know the reasons behind The War." About a third the hands dropped, but mine was still raised. "Okay, keep your hands raised if you lost a family member, a friend, or even know someone who lost a family member or friend." Only seven hands were up now including mine."Okay put your hands down. I won't ask who, but my condolences." I tuned her out after that. I already know everything there is to know about The War.

Back in 1991, there was a man named John McCarthy better known to the public as Void Master. He was a big league hero, right up there with Iron Fist and the Sphinx. One day there was an unusually horrid battle between Sphinx and his arch nemesis Set. Void Master got arrived on the scene just in time to see Set kill Sphinx and several bystanders. Void Master flew into a furious frenzy at the death at what was later found out to be his child hood friend. He became the first Hero in history to break the no killing rule, by destroying Set's mind as well as his body. Void Master was what is now termed as a Telebeing, A person who can demonstrate multiple abilities with his or her mind. After that fight he disappeared for 3 years, before he returned as the new villain, Chaos.

Chaos became ruthless as he tried to take over the U.S. And eventually the world. He claimed that world needed a leader, and he was the only one strong enough to be that leader. He killed hundreds in his mad quest for power. Civilians and heroes alike fell by his hand. Villains either joined or died. Some heroes lost hope and switched sides. It all came to a head in 1996, when 16 of the worlds greatest heroes led by Iron Fist stormed Chaos' volcano island fortress in Tahaki, Hawaii. My mom's older brother, Chase Norman also known as the hero Sixth Sense was one of the 16. He gave his life holding off Chaos' forces while Iron Fist battled his old friend. Iron was mortally wounded but managed to beat Chaos. On August 8th,1997, Chaos became the first person ever to be inter-dimensionally imprisoned. His last words after his sentence were, "This is only the beginning." They sent him to a volcanic planet in Dimension 9. Every year we honor those who gave their lives on that fateful day.

The bell rang signaling everyone to go to their next class, which for me happened to be 4th period gym. Time to fight. Every gathered in the stands while Coach Speedy and Coach Lash took role. After they finished, we dressed out in work out clothes and did warm up conditioning. A mile run along with push-ups, sit ups,etc.

"Alright, Julius Grey and Viktor Rade suit up!" Coach Lash Yelled. We both got up and went to the locker room to change.

"So uh..." I started awkwardly, "good luck today."

"Don't need it," he responded. "But good luck to you as well." We shook hands and headed out to the newly converted arena.

"Alright listen up. I'm going to explain the rules. This is a Sky High sanctioned sparring match. The match ends when a person states clearly that they yield. No hitting below the belt, eye gouging, or foul play of any kind. Time will be fifteen minutes on the clock. Do you both understand the rules?" We nodded. "Good, now power up." I charged my body and took a defensive fighting stance. "Ready...Begin!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Viktor POV

"Alright listen up. I'm going to explain the rules. This is a Sky High sanctioned sparring match. The match ends when a person states clearly that they yield. No hitting below the belt, eye gouging, or foul play of any kind. Time will be fifteen minutes on the clock. Do you both understand the rules?" We nodded. "Good, now power up." I took a defensive posture. Julius did too, but I noticed that his eyes started to glow. I hadn't noticed before. "Ready...Begin!" Julius punched his fist forward and everything slowed down a little as I noticed the air ripple around his fist and move towards me at what I'm sure was a very alarming speed. I tucked and rolled under it and pushed off using all the muscles in my body to leap high into the air. He dropped to one knee fired two more pulses of shock wave energy from both hands. I twisted quickly in mid-air to avoid them. I landed right behind him as he stood up. So, I dropped and swept his legs out from under him. He fell but got back up as if nothing happened, which is when I went on the offensive.

I charged ducking, spinning and jumping to avoid his shock waves. It was easy since I had given my body over completely to my reflexes. Julius kept backing up and firing off shock waves, but I was getting closer. When I got within arms reach, I lashed out with my foot, but he caught it. So I leaped up and caught him across the face with my heel and back flipped out of his reach. I lunged at him before he had a chance to recover, tackling him to the ground. I jabbed at his face but he caught my fist and smirked. I jabbed with my other with my other fist only earning the same result. Suddenly I was airborne most likely from Julius pushing me off with a powerful shock wave. I tucked my knees into my chest and sprang off a pillar and rolled onto the ground.  
>I heard the clock sound the five minute alarm and decided that I needed to finish this. Julius and I charged at each other from opposite sides of the gym, when I noticed his hand were vibrating rapidly, which meant one thing. He charges his hands before he fires. Julius jumped and clapped his hands together creating a shock wave about 10 feet wide, no doubt a trick he learned from his father. I ran toward and slid right under the wave and swept his feet from under him again. He started to throw punches. Sloppy right hooks and jabs tried their best to connect but couldn't because I was too fast and his moves were predictable. Even the side kick that would have taken most people by surprise given all the punches he had thrown was futile because I trapped his right leg with my arm I punched as hard as I could in the chest and he went down hard. I was getting ready for another attack when the clock sounded. The match was over, and I had won. I pulled Julius to his feet and he thanked me quietly and hurried off to the locker room to change. I looked around the gym everyone was staring at me. I ignored them and went to the locker room. Julius was gone by the time I got there. I'm pretty sure despite our agreement, he holds resentment from the fact that I beat him with out in sort discernible active power. Typical meta-human heroes believe that only other meta-humans have the skill or power to beat them and when they're proven wrong they take it personally. Well, I would rather find out now how shallow and cowardly Julius is than while in a desperate situation.<p>

I decided to skip the rendezvous with Julius due to the revelation of his character. I ate lunch quickly, and left to begin my reconnaissance of the school's layout. Battle field tactics with Bo have taught me that a good soldier can fight on any terrain, but the best soldier knows all terrains, and surveys all the one's he doesn't before a battle to look for any advantage. After about 45 minutes, the bell rang. I had found 4 secret passages, 2 secret rooms and a ventilation that led to a aircraft hanger. When the bell rang, I hurried to Ethics. Good thing I had studied the night before, because Mr. Proctor had revealed that we would be having a pop quiz on the last few chapters. I'm sure that I aced it.

By the time it was time to go, I was sufficiently ticked off with myself for unknowingly trusting Julius as easy as I did. I was walking to the bus in a darkened mood, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and Julius was standing right there.  
>"Can I help you?" I asked coldly. He didn't look surprised by my tone. I continued walking and got on the bus. He sat down next to me, much to my annoyance.<p>

"Sorry I couldn't make it today. I got into a fight with Devin and have to serve detention for the next few days during my free period " He said, which was the last thing I expected him to say but it did explain the fact that he didn't show up for our rendezvous, and now that I was really looking at him, he had a slight bruise on his cheek.

"Please tell me you at least got a hit in."please, please.

"Of course, I'd say you should see the other guy, but you might lose your lunch."

I chuckled, "What happened?"

"He got under my skin and so I hit him with a pulse and he didn't take it sitting down. Things just escalated until a teacher came and broke it up."he tried.

"Which teacher?" I asked uncharacteristically curious.

"Mr. Peeks" he looked hopeful.

"Wow, The Peak got involved," he visibly deflated, " Look, I'm not legally qualified to teach you anything." I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote my address on it and handed it to him.

"Be at this address, on Saturday. And i'll see what I can do."

"Alright, i'll be there." We got off the bus and parted ways.

5 minutes later, I was opening the door.

"Mai," I called out.

"Downstairs!" It sounded like she was in the weight room we had in our basement. I walked downstairs and found Mai benching what looked like 160 lbs.

I smiled. "How many is that?" Qiú nǐle, mǔqīn

"About 50 reps."

"Weak."

"Yeah, well I went for a 6 mile run this morning. So forgive me if I'm a little famished." She toweled off and we went upstairs to the my room. I plopped down and laid on the bed while she sat on the edge of it. "So how was school?"

"It was good. I won the fight. The Julius guy has some potential but he gives up easily and he's not very innovative with his powers. Part of that comes from the classic super hero training he got from his father, which with whom he seems to currently has a rocky relationship with, most likely due to a recent event. The fondness with which he spoke of him shows that he loves him, but they seem to have recently disagreed on something emotional enough for him to question not only the dynamic of his relationship but also the extent of his powers, which brings me to a favor I need to ask you."

She stared hard at me, and after several minutes she answered, "What did I tell you about using in depth psychoanalysis in common conversations?"

"Right. To...uh... that I... but I have a really good reason."

"And that would be?"

"Extra training?"

"No," she dead panned.

"Why not?"

"Why should I in the first place?" She countered.

"Because no hero is so good that he can save the world on his own. Right?" I recited.

"Oh, okay...so what's the real reason."

Somehow I knew she'd see right through that.

"One, because he has a good heart and I think it'll make him a better hero. And two because... for once I'd like to have a friend. Not just an ally or another proverbial piece to move on the chess board but a genuine friend." That's when I noticed her resolve crack, so I delivered the knock out punch.

The puppy dog eyes and saying, "Qiú nǐle, mǔqīn."

"Fine, but I do have conditions."

"Thank you, Mai." I leaped forward and hugged her.

Authors Note: Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry I've been out of it for so long but I needed to get my swing back or stroke or which ever applies in this situation. In case you were wondering what the last phrase meant, it's traditional Chinese for "Please, mother." Don't hesitate to click that review button and tell me how you feel about the story. Happy reading. :D


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